Our Paths Did Cross
Glinda had accepted that Elphaba was never coming back. It had been 4 whole days since the fight. She had busied herself with writing and meetings and planning events, but Elphaba was always in the back of her mind. She had almost told Boq, but was worried he would think she was crazy. She had delt with hallucinations in the past, after all. She didn’t have time to see a million different doctors right now, so she kept it to herself.
Although, maybe she was crazy. Who kicks their best friend out after 5 years of thinking you’d give anything for just 5 more minutes together? Glinda knew she would regret this fight for the rest of her life.
The past 4 days had been some of the most difficult of her life, second only to after the Melting. Every night when she got back to her apartment, she would immediately break down. She could hold in her heartbreak during the day, but once she was alone in her room it all came flooding out. So, when she finished up the last of her tasks in her office, she fully expected that same routine as she walked into her apartment. What she didn’t expect, however, was that someone would be sitting on her couch.
“ELPHIE!” She ran as fast as she could, crashing into Elphaba on the couch. “Thank Oz you came back. I was so worried. I’m so so sorry.” And just like every other night lately, Glinda broke down. “Oh, Elphie. I missed you so much.”
Elphaba was shocked. “I thought you hated me. I debated if I even should come back.”
“I don’t hate you,” Glinda said, “I…..” She didn’t finish the sentence.
They sat there for a while in silence. There was so much they wanted to say, but neither could find the words. Glinda rested her head on Elphaba’s shoulder. Just like old times, Glinda thought, feeling the tears run down her cheeks but not bothering to wipe them away.
Finally, Glinda broke the silence. “I’m sorry. For the fight.”
“No, Glinda, I’m the one-”
“Shush,” Glinda said with a smirk, pressing her finger to Elphaba’s lips. “It’s my turn.” They both broke into giggles, and then Glinda continued. “For real, I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. This is all I’ve wanted, to have you back. You did what you had to do. I hate it, but I also know you were doing it to protect me.” She felt herself getting choked up again. “I don’t need you to protect me. I feel safest with you.” She started at her hands in her lap. That was too much. But she felt Elphaba’s arms wrap around her and knew that Elphaba felt the same.
“My turn?” Elphaba asked, and Glinda could hear the smile in her voice before she had even turned to look. Elphaba reached out to grab Glinda’s hands. “I never should have left you. I’m so, so sorry. I regretted it every moment since.”
“And I regretted not getting on that broom.”
“I know,” Elphaba said. Those two words made Glinda feel so much better. That regret was something that had been haunting her for years.
“And you’re right,” Elphaba continued. “I was trying to protect you. Because if something happened to you, I…” She began to cry. Glinda held her close, absently rubbing her thumb back and forth on Elphaba’s back.
“I know, Elphie. I know.”
“You did so much,” Elphaba finally said, quietly into Glinda’s shoulder.
“Hmm?”
Elphaba pulled away to look Glinda in the eye. “You did so much. When I first got back to Oz, I could see it. Even in the outskirts. You changed things. You did everything I couldn’t do.”
“I did it for you, said Glinda, wiping the tears from Elphaba’s cheek. “Every bit of it.”
They sat there for a while, knowing that they had so much time. They hadn’t had that luxury since the train from Shiz.
“Glinda?” Elphaba said, nervously breaking the comfortable silence. “What did you mean, the other day, about the tower?”
Glinda could feel her heartbeat quicken. Elphaba, even after all this time, knew her better than anyone. Of course she picked up on that. Why did I say anything?
“Hey, it’s okay,” said Elphaba, pulling Glinda into her lap and playing with her hair. Glinda instantly started to breathe easier. She didn’t know what it was or when they had started to do it, but Elphaba playing with her hair was the quickest way to help Glinda come back from a panic attack at Shiz. She was touched that Elphaba remembered. “You’re safe,” Elphaba whispered. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Glinda looked up into those gorgeous green eyes. There’s no place like home, she thought with a small smile.
“If you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay,” said Elphaba, still running. Her fingers through Glinda’s hair.
“No, I…I want to.” Glinda was shocked to hear those words come out of her mouth. She had never even talked to Boq about it, despite telling him she would. Eventually, he dropped the issue once he felt comfortable it wouldn’t happen again. And it never had. Though Elphaba wasn’t there, the progress being made in Oz made her feel like she had a purpose again. She carried on with her life like nothing had happened and planned on carrying the secret of what happened on that day in Kiamo Ko to the grave. Which is why she was even more surprised when she heard herself begin to speak, “It was a year after the Melting…”
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Elphaba sat silently until Glinda was finished talking, and for a few moments after. She felt almost nauseous with guilt. If Boq didn’t show up when he did, Glinda wouldn’t be here. And it was all because of me. She pulled Glinda up into a hug, burying her face in her curls. “I don’t even know what to say,” Elphaba whispered. “I…I’m so sorry. I thought I was doing what was best for you. I had no idea…
“I didn’t tell you this part,” Glinda said through tears.
“What?” asked Elphaba weakly.
“I hesitated. I hesitated because I thought about what would happen if you came back and I wasn’t here. And without that hesitation, Boq would have been too late.”
Elphaba held Glinda for a while longer, in silence at first as both girls thought about how close they had come to not having this moment together. After a while, they began to talk again, about everything and nothing, giggling like they were back in their room at Shiz. Glinda yawned, and Elphaba realized it was after midnight.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Elphaba said, scooping up Glinda and carrying her into her bedroom.
Glinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba’s neck. “No, Elphie, I want to keep talking to you.” Another yawn.
Elphaba chuckled. “No, you need sleep. I’ll sleep on the couch. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?” Glinda said, already half asleep. Elphaba noticed how happy Glinda looked then. Her eyes sparkled again, the worried creases between her eyebrows were gone, and her dimple was back.
Elphaba smiled. “I promise, my sweet.”
She had left Glinda’s room and gone over to the couch. She had just laid down when she heard Glinda’s voice from the other room.
“Elphie? Come in here?”
Elphaba laughed and went back to Glinda’s room.
“Sleep in here?” Glinda asked, without even opening her eyes.
Elphaba didn’t respond, already climbing into the bed. Glinda immediately put an arm over her, and Elphaba felt so happy she could, well, melt. This, right here, was all she ever wanted. And they both fell asleep with ridiculous smiles on their faces.